“I find it remarkable that Trump supporters like Steven Moore believe it's possible to insure the sick and the poor without requiring any sacrifices from the healthy and wealthy. This is conservative rubbish,” -- Robert Reich.
The American Health Care Act is "irresponsible and cruel." It would make the cost of health care for the sick and the poor not affordable, while it benefits the healthy and wealthy, many of whom could afford health care without lowering their insurance premiums.
In a nutshell, under the American Health Care Act -- the House Republicans’ Obamacare replacement that was passed last month -- as reported Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), greatly increases the number of America’s uninsured, Americans would pay more for their health insurance, and it allows individual states to decide whether to allow insurers to charge more for those with pre-existing conditions.
The CBO forecasts that by 2026 twenty-three million Americans would have no health insurance.
They forecast the deficit would be reduced by $119 billion.
And, premiums are forecast to be lower than under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Premium cost, however, would come down for healthy Americans but those who are sick or suffer from pre-existing conditions would have access to less coverage.
Under the American Health Care Act, for most Americans, lower prices would mean higher out-of-pocket cost, fewer covered services, and coverage for Americans who would need it the most would be less accessible because it would cost more than they could afford.
Obamacare should not be repealed and replaced with something that is basically a good law for something that is not. Obamacare -- the Affordable Care Act -- should be carefully looked at and tweaked to make it a better law. Republicans will not because the law was put into place by the Obama Administration. But even better, replace the law with a single-payer health care system.
Now the Senate Republicans will have to decide whether to tweak the House's version or throw it in the trash. The best alternative would be to trash it permanently.
By German Lopez
